Comfort cooling unit



May 9, 1939.

E. F. FISHER I COMFORT COOLING UNIT Filed April 50, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheetl IErtlr M .3 0: TF. f f M 5 ,4 TTORNE Y May 9, 1939. E. F. FISHERCOMFORT COOLING UNIT Filed April 50, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet "2 Patented May9, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,157,531 COMFORT COOLING UNITErnest F. Fisher, Springfield, Ill.

Application April 30, 1936, Serial No. 77,241

1 Claim.

This invention relates to air cooling units' for comfort cooling insummer. and is especially adapted for use in connection with the comfortcooling of homes, ofiices, churches, theaters or other inhabited places.

In many localities in the temperate zone there is, as a rule, in thesummer a sufiicient difference between the dry bulb temperatures and thecorresponding wet bulb temperatures to provide a m desirable gradientfor heat transfer work without any need for altering or varying themoisture content of the air or for resorting to refrigeration. Forexample, under one set of conditions if the dry bulb temperature is 102with a corre- 16 sponding wet bulb temperature of about '78",

there is a difi'erence of 24 available for air conditioning operations.If the air is cooled to within of the wet bulb temperature, that is, toabout 83 and the moisture content maintained the same although therelative humidity will change if this air is discharged into a room andan active circulation is maintained, the occupants will experience ahigh degree of comfort.

It is not necessary from the standpoint of human comfort to maintainconstant indoor temperatures with widely varying dry and wet bulbtemperatures. The human body does not respond properly to suchconditions. Much can be accomplished in cooling air for human comfort byevaporative cooling with water at atmospheric pressures. It is, ofcourse, possible to obtain temperatures considerably below the dew pointA with evaporative cooling of water under pressure considerably belowatmospheric pressure but this entails expensive air and vapor handlingequipment.

One object of this invention is to provide a low cost air cooling unitthat employs no expensive refrigeration apparatus and that can beoperated during the hot summer months at a relatively low cost while yetproviding necessary air movement and decreased temperature of the airfor comfort conditions. Another object of this invention is to providean air cooling unit which is adapted to be positioned in a windowopening of an enclosure and to be readily removable therefrom whenoccasion warrants. A further object of this invention is to cool theconducting plates close to the wet bulb temperature by evaporating wateron one of their surfaces at atmospheric pressures and to cool a secondair stream by pass-.

ous figures and in which Fig. 1 is a vertical section of one embodimenttaken on the line l-l of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a front elevation showing theapparatus in position for use, portions of the same being shown indifierent planes to illustrate the 5 construction. Fig. 3 is aperspective view of a portion of the heat conducting plates on aconsiderably enlarged scale. Fig. 4 is a front view of a portion ofthese plates showing the manner of their construction and connection andon a 10 larger scale. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line 5--5 ofFig. 3, likewise being on an enlarged scale.

Considering the drawings in greater detail, Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate acomfort cooling unit in- 15 stalled in a window opening. The apparatuscomprises a housing l0 having an inlet opening H and a plurality ofoutlet openings l2 and I3. The cabinet or housing is arranged to setupon the window sill l4 and to be held in place by the win- 20 dow sashl5 through the-.intermediation of the. angle iron member 16 which issecured at the top of the housing adjacent the outlet l2 and is soarranged to allow the window to drop in behind it. This construction incooperation with the 5 stepped pcrtion I! allows the housing to beplaced in a window opening without danger of its dropping out. Ifadditional securing means are desired, they can be provided by securinga member at the bottom of the housing It and allowing so it to extendinside of and over the window sill ll. The inlet opening II is providedwith means for effecting the passage of air through the housing and isshown as a motor driven fan 20. The fan is securely mounted adjacent theinlet and is pro- 5 vided with a protection shield 2| having a screen 22to keep out foreign objects. Interposed within the housing and arrangedto provide a passageway connecting the inlet II with the outlets l2 andI3 are a plurality of heat conducting plates 40 23. These plates areconstructed in the form of deep channels as shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5having upwardly extending flange portions 24 and 2!, the adjacent flangeportions 25 and 26 being arranged to overlap and be interlocked so as toclose 45 the passageways A formed between adjacent plates. These platesare so arranged as to provide a plurality of passageways A and W whichare in direct communication with the air inlet I I, the alternatepassages W being clased at their 50 ends by the connecting portions 28of the channels and open at their top whereby to provide an air passagefrom the inlet I I to the outlet IS. The alternate passageways A areopen adjacent the inlet II and the outlet l2 but are closed at .5

the top by the interlocked flange portions 25 and 26 and at the bottomby the bottom portion 29 of the housing. As a result of thisconstruction, the air stream entering the housing from the outside of abuilding or enclosure is divided into two separate air streams, oneportion flowing toward the outlet 23 and the other portion flowingtoward the outlet I2. The air from this latter outlet enters theenclosure and passes through a filter 3|].

At the top of the housing is positioned a plurality of water spraydevices 3| supplied by a common supply pipe 32 which is arranged to beconnected to a suitable source of water supply. Under somecircumstances, this may be an ordinary garden hose. Above the spraynozzles 3| is positioned an appropriate eliminator 33. It will thus beobserved that air entering the passages W follows the direction of thedotted arrows and is contacted with a water spray resulting in theevaporation of water into this air stream and the cooling of the heatconducting plates 23. This air stream into which the water is evaporatedis vented to the outside through the outlet I3. The air stream passingon the opposite side of the plates 23, namely, in the passages A, iscooled and cleaned and then introduced into the space of occupancy. Thecooling plates are secured together by means of the bolts 34 and theseparators 35. The space above the top of the enclosure portions 28 isclosed by the angle member 36 so that air from the two streams cannotintermix. The water spray is prevented from entering the motor housingby means of the baffle 31 and excess water is carried oif from the drain38. If the housing is madeof standard construction, side plate members39 and 40 can be provided to seal 01f any space between the housing andthe window opening in which it is positioned.

Although this apparatus has been described in connection as applied to awindow opening, it is equally feasible and practicable to insert it in aduct system and thereby cause the cooled air to flow through the ductsinstead of directly into the enclosure. In view of the arrangement ofthe parts, it is quite clear that no moisture will be added to orextracted from the air flowing in the passages A but that this air willbe lowered sumciently for comfort conditions if it is kept in activecirculation. It is also readily apparent that the saturated air from theunit is conducted outside of the enclosure.

Although a specific embodiment of this invention has been illustratedand described, variations within the true spirit and scope of the sameare intended to be covered by the appended claim.

What I claim is:

In an apparatus of the class described, in combination, a casing adaptedto fit an opening in the wall of a building, a series of substantiallyvertical platesextending longitudinally of the casing and dividing itinto separate air passages, all of said passages having openings attheir outer ends, alternate ones of said passages having openings attheir inner ends, and the other passages having openings at the top ofthe casing leading to the outer atmosphere, means for spraying anevaporative liquid into said other passages through the openings at thetop of the casing, an outlet at the bottom of the casing for drainingoff surplus liquid, and means at the outer end of the casing forintroducing air from the atmosphere into all of the passages.

ERNEST F. FISHER.

